What 1,029 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Subaru Outback

Batter died twice and vehicle has fewer than 25K miles. Jumped and worked for a few days then died again. Had to have battery replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11486193

Unknown battery and blind spot issues

NHTSA ODI 11486213

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the garage, she was unable to open the door with the key fob. The contact stated that she was able to open the front driver’s side door with the key manually. The contact stated she was unable to start the vehicle. The contact's boyfriend attempted to jump start the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 27,097.

NHTSA ODI 11485796

Battery goes dead without notice. First time took care to dealer of purchase, Stamford Subaru and battery was replaced. Battery went dead on 9/16/22. Kind stranger gave me a boost. I purchased a portable booster as I no longer trust this car that has 35k miles. Every time I go to start the car, I am left wondering if it will start.

NHTSA ODI 11485885

This Subaru Outback Limited has had multiple instances of dead battery. This has occurred on 4 batteries. We are senior citizens at risk of being stranded. There is a record of Subaru Roadside Service having to tow and jump start the vehicle many times The dealer finds no trouble after charging the battery nor are they aware of fixes. The symptoms are failure to start.

NHTSA ODI 11485556

The infotainment system when a phone is hooked up to it via a usb cord it will turn of and begin a repowering process that turns off the rear camera that is part of that system. this does not give you the safety of being able to back up without the rear camera. i have taken my car in to Subaru four time and they have replaced the infotainment system three times in total. i continue to have the same issue with every radio. i have also replaced my phone, usb cords, and have used other people's phones (IOS and Android) with the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11484739

Battery issues Numerous times having to jump the car. Battery drained. Purchased Auto new in May 2019 Had to replace battery in November 2021 Two years six months. Now September 2022 ten months later the battery has to be replaced again. The auto currently has about 31,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11482345

Infotainment system screen is bubbling causing input to the user interface with no driver action. I consider this a safety issue due to the fact I can not turn the system off or deactivate it. The car starts playing music, making phone calls, changing navigation settings ect... This creates a persistent and strong hazard. I can not focus on the road, hear emergency sirens or other cars alerting with their horns.

NHTSA ODI 11480791

Battery dies every couple months despite nothing being on without vehicle on.

NHTSA ODI 11479519

Over the last month or two the battery has been going dead over night, and sometimes almost immediately after parking it. I understand that there is a class action law suit pending on this issue, and I understand Subaru will replace the cheap small battery with another cheap small battery which is only kicking the can down the road since as far as I know not fixing the underlying electrical issue in the car. I tend to drive some roads that have long stretches of mountainous terrain even though a Federal Highway. No phone service is often and issue and should this problem strike me on one of these trips I may have some problems getting going again.

NHTSA ODI 11479524

The battery continues to drain by itself, even with no usage. I have already replaced the battery once and the issue continues. Seems like there is an electrical problem. I have tested the new battery and it is fine just needs to be charged regularly in order to start the car.

NHTSA ODI 11478330

“Condensation like” artifacts have appeared on the substrate of the LCD control screen similar to the recall issued for the 2018 model year. This affects vital control for most any vehicle setting and navigation. Also the system behaves erratically while in motion.

NHTSA ODI 11478068

The automatic liftgate fails to latch and requires extra steps that most car owner would not know to temporarily resolve the issue. My situation has been difficult to replicate. The liftgate will open but not close. It will also close but not open. It will also latch but not securely. This evening, the hatch opened but failed to close. It also latched but found out at 55mph that it was not properly secured when my dog leaned against it. It did not open but the light turned on like a door was opened. This has been a known issue with many other Subaru owners as well. The answer always seems to hold the button for 10 seconds to reset but this does not work every time.

NHTSA ODI 11477271

The car is a 2019 Subaru Outback, purchased certified pre-owned in the summer of 2020 from North Park Subaru, San Pedro Ave., San Antonio TX.On 17 July 2022, the vehicle began shuddering, rolling backwards, and the transmission would not go into any gear position after starting it. The only way to keep the car from continuing to roll backwards was to remove the key from the ignition. At that point the vehicle stopped. Afterwards we tried to start it again, the car would go through the same sequence of events. We called a tow truck to have it dropped off at North Park Subaru, San Pedro St., San Antonio TX. It was determined by Subaru technicians the Electronic Control Module (ECM) needed to be reset. That was completed and symptoms could not be mimicked at the dealership. So, the vehicle was returned to us on 20 Jul 2022. On 21 Jul 2022, it malfunctioned again and repeated the symptoms; shuddering, rolling backwards, not going into gear, etc. It was returned to the same Subaru dealership and a few days later we received text messages to test drive it because technicians could not mimic ongoing issues during their test drives. We refused to retrieve our vehicle due to its unsafe condition and filed a complaint with Subaru of America Inc. on 27 Jul 2022.

NHTSA ODI 11476192

The battery does not hold power and we have been stranded in a remote location more than once. I am nervous about going anywhere on my own, especially at night. The dealer has been totally unresponsive and told us this is normal and we should just buy a portable charger. We do now take a charger everywhere we go but this seems unacceptable for a new (and not inexpensive) car. It seems this is a problem with the 2019 outback. The date below is the last time this happened but it has been an ongoing issue since we bought the vehicle

NHTSA ODI 11475730

At about 35,000 miles the car would not start. Had the battery checked and was told it was fine. Subaru garage could not find a parasitic drain. Replaced the battery and the car still would not start reliably. Took the car back to the Subaru garage and they had it for 5 days and at first said the DCM needed to be replaced then they back tracked and said the car was fine and they could not find anything wrong with it. Subaru garage told me to contact Subaru and they would give me a $500.00 "gift card" and I could bring it back and they could put in an AGM battery and a battery tender. The car would not start a total of approximately 8-10 times unless it was kept on a trickle charger. I did not want to have to rely on plugging my car in all the time. We sold the car because we could not have an unreliable vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11475476

The entire electrical system stopped working while parked in garage probably because the battery completely drained. Since the car was parked, there should have been no mechanical or electrical activity. Because this car depends so much on electronic control almost nothing can be operated. Locked doors cannot be opened (the car automatically locks all doors while in motion except the driver door), the tailgate cannot be opened and, of course, the engine will not start.

NHTSA ODI 11474970

Touch screen began to get bubbles underneath factory glass and is causing spontaneous touch-activation and inability to use touch screen. This also affects navigation and other issues. Might cause an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11474126

Two dead batteries in 5 days. Dealer is looking at it this week.

NHTSA ODI 11473482

Battery keeps dying. Replaced the battery and it’s already dead again.

NHTSA ODI 11472984

Touch screen began to get bubbles underneath factory glass and is causing spontaneous touch-activation and inability to use touch screen.

NHTSA ODI 11472710

Battery suddenly died. Would not start after being driven a short trip.

NHTSA ODI 11472825

Starlink Infotainment System has malfunctioned. I took the car to Bert Smith Subaru in St. Petersburg, FL and the assessment notes the screen has started to delaminate rendering the touchscreen and system inoperable. The dealer estimate to replace the unit was $2862.79. My 2019 Outback 2.5 Limited is equipped with the Harman Gen. 3.0 Audio and Navigation head unit. This is the same unit that was part of a class action involving 2018 models which resulted in Subaru issuing an extended warranty that covered replacement of the unit. I submitted a complaint to Subaru of America asking for the same coverage of an extended warranty or replacement of the head unit. (Case #220617-169688)Subaru offered to pay $2,000 toward the cost to replace the unit. I feel they should cover the entire amont since this is an obvious defect.

NHTSA ODI 11472352

The car battery was completely dead (no warning light or anything) after ~3 years and 45k miles. When we replaced it, the new battery died within 2 days and less than 150 miles. The mechanic who replaced our battery said that the new one was also completely dead.

NHTSA ODI 11471815

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery was drained. The battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was jumpstarted and taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to an authorized dealer. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.

NHTSA ODI 11471547